Stress overload

So, after reviewing how much yarn I've ordered in the past few days (I'll tell you about the rest of it as it arrives), I've decided I'm a stress shopper. Normally I'm a stress eater, but I think I'm under so much stress right now, I've lost my appetite, and started shopping instead. Plus it's so easy when it's online, all you have to do is just type in your credit card number, or even easier, use Paypal. I have a harder time buying a sweater's worth of yarn when it's "in person" if you know what I mean. (Although, on of my LYS does have their cotton and cotton blend yarns on sale 30% off this week...)

So why all the stress? As I've alluded to before, I'm looking for a new job. I've applied for a position at one of the best, if not the best, companies in my city, and it is very hard to get a job with them, very little turnover. I have a friend at the company who recommended me, and said the recruiter seemed really excited after looking at my resume. I've spoken to the recruiter myself a couple of times since then, and tomorrow she will be meeting with the hiring manager to go over the applicants, narrow it down to a few to pre-screen, and then interview. They are moving dreadfully slow. The position I applied for sounds really interesting, and there would be a lot of room to move up with this company.

In the meantime, a placement firm sent my resume to a public accounting firm, and they were really interested in me. I told her my salary requirements, and they said there wouldn't be a problem meeting them. I met the HR person last week, and went to lunch with one of the partners, and now today I'm supposed to go to lunch with another partner, meet all the people in the department I would be working in, and talk to the HR person about benefits. I'm anticipating a job offer, but I'm not sure if I want to work there. I'm getting bored with what I do now, and this would be essentially the same, minus the long hours. On the positive side, maybe it would be stress free enough that I would actually have the energy at night to study for the CPA exam, and typically a firm like this would allow the time off to take the exam and pay for continuing education, etc. Because the position at the other company does not require the CPA certification, I doubt if they would pay for the related expenses.

What to do, what to do.....

Anyway, any good thoughts you could send my way would be much appreciated. Knitter's seem to have fantastic good vibe powers :)

We have a problem

Hello, my name is Penny, and I am a knitting shopaholic....

Boy, when I jump off the wagon, I do it in a big way. I ordered yarn for the three projects I blogged about last time, plus I found a source for the Kauni yarn - In Denmark, so I still had to pay the shipping, but she had it in stock, where most shops are starting to run out. I also ordered some Calmer for Morrigan from No Sheep for You, and I'm really, really tempted by the Tulip Baby Cardigan. That Harlot does find the most irresistible knits, doesn't she?

So, the orders are starting to roll in, so here are the first two:

I'm on the road to becoming a Loopy Groupie. I placed my first order with The Loopy Ewe last Friday evening, and it was in my mailbox Monday when I got home from work! I ordered two skeins of Panda Cotton in the Baby Blues colorway (super soft yarn!). I don't have any plans for this at the moment, but am mulling around several. Maybe a lacy patterned sock, something summery. I also ordered a silver shawl pin from Designs by Romi. I need something to keep my shawls and stoles in place, otherwise I'm always fidgeting with them, and so I find myself not wearing them. I've had my eye on this pin for a long time, and finally broke down and bought it!

My next order arrived today! This is Artyarn Regal Silk, ordered from Fabulousyarn.com late Saturday night! This was my first order with this company as well, and I will definitely shop with them again. The prices are super, and the more you spend, the bigger discounts you get. You can get an extra discount by signing up for their newsletter! The yarn is delicious and gorgeous, and it makes my mouth water! This is for the SKC knitalong starting July 1st, for Annie Modesitt's Red Carpet Convertible. I'm knitting the corset length, and can't wait to cast on!! I'll probably swatch in the next day or two.

A few quick items

Today is the last day to donate to Claudia's MS Ride, and have a chance (or some chances) at winning one of her fabulous prizes. After you donate, email Anne and let her know - she's pledged matching dollars, and also has a few prizes as well. Then, email Lilith and let her know - she will be drawing the name of a lucky donee for whom she will knit a pair of Monkey socks!

Have you heard about Annie Modesitt's Red Carpet Convertible pattern? Her husband has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, and is scheduled for a bone marrow transplant at the Mayo Clinic this summer. Donations are being accepted to help offset their expenses, and this is her latest pattern, offered in gratitude for said donations. The pattern has instructions for a cute dress along the line of her corset tops. Actually it can be knit as a corset top, or you can keep knitting and add the skirt and make it any length you want, all the way to floor length.

The Sexy Knitters Club has selected this pattern as half of the next knit along. The other pattern, a winner by a landslide, is Fifi by French Girl Knits.

Melanie's Mystery Stole 3 is starting up again soon. The first clue will be released June 29th, and signups close July 6th. I knit her MS2 last summer and loved it; I'm so happy she's doing it again, and can't wait for it to start!

Finally, in light of all these great knit alongs, I am briefly jumping off the Knit From Your Stash wagon, and buying yarn for all three patterns. I am justifying this to myself because when we were in Little Rock I visited two very nice LYS and didn't buy a single thing!

Edited to add: I forgot one other thing! I'm sure by now everyone knows of the Kauni Cardigan. The Harlot blogged about it a few days ago, and Purlwise blogged extensively about it, with many pictures. I love the color changes, and I think its beautiful. Well, anyway, there's a KAL starting up, and I'm on the hunt for the yarn. So far (after a brief search) I haven't found anyone in the US who carries it, and shipping from Europe is nearly as much as the yarn itself. So, I'll continue looking for a few days more, or possibly find someone in the US who wants to order together and split the shipping. It looks like you could order enough yarn for up to 3 sweaters and the shipping stays the same.

The Rock, Part II

Ok, that post was getting way too long, so here is the knitting related portion of our road trip adventure :D

As you can see first off, I finished my first Jaywalker sock. Actually, all I had to do was Kitchner the toe, so this was completed before we ever hit the turnpike, still in Oklahoma.

Next up: See all this yarn? This is what I packed to take with us, because I just *might* run out! Of course I packed the second ball of sock yarn for my second Jaywalker sock, which I cast on for promptly. This is Knit Picks Dancing (long discontinued).

I also packed 4 balls of Cascade 220 Heathers in Cobalt for another top down cardigan I cast on for on the trip. This is loosely based on Wendy's Something Red, but it is a different row and stitch gauge, and I'm throwing in a bit of a pattern to make the stockinette interesting. I think I cast on and ripped this out three times before I was finally happy with it the fourth.

Finally, I brought 2 balls of fingering weight, 250 yards plus, yarn for a non-car friendly Debbie Bliss toddler cardigan. Just in case I blew through the sock, the 880 yards of Cascade 220, plus the umpteen books and magazines I also packed for the four hour car trip.

And this picture? This shows how much knitting I actually did on the trip. Cast on for second Jitterbug and worked ribbing; Cast on, ripped, cast on again for blue cardi, worked about three inches (the rest worked since we got home); and added 4 rows to the existing 16 on the DB cardigan. I've added a few more since returning home as well.

All in all, it was a really fun trip, other than coming back with a killer sinus infection. We are packing up again tomorrow for a much shorter, one day trip, so I don't think I'll take quite as much yarn.

Happy Fathers' Day!

The Rock

Catchy title isn't it? It's late, I'm tired, and so that's what it is for now :)

I thought I'd give you a brief synopsis of my road trip last weekend. BHE and I drove to Little Rock, Arkansas to see the end of the Hot Rod Power Tour 2007. We saw cars, cars, and more cars, plus a few other objects turned into cars. We think the one pictured below was probably an amusement park ride - I'd love to go for a ride in it! The license tag on the back was "ROCKET"

The signage said 4000 cars, but we estimated there to be about 1500-2000. Still way too many to see, given the horendous humidty - I thought Tulsa was humid, but we've got nothing on The Rock.

We also saw Historic Landmarks (celebrating an anniversiary soon), a haunted mansions-turned-bed-and -breakfast (supposed one of the most active sites in LR for paranormal activity), and walked halfway across a Big Dam Bridge. (This is really it's name. Unimaginative, but pretty descriptive.) The Bridge is across the Arkansas River, and is at one of its widest points, if not the widest. Either way, it's has a lot more water in it at this point than it does in Tulsa. We were lucky enough to stay with my big brother and his wife, they have a fantastic house with beautiful landscaping. They have green thumbs like you wouldn't believe. We have an invite back for next year to kick off the Hot Rod Power Tour 2008, and hopefully we have a car to drive in the Tour! (No pressure, honey!)

What Finger Am I?

I saw this showing up on a few blogs, and decided to go see what I am. One question was about birth order, and I could have answered that two different ways. I did, and both times I was a "Ring Finger." Vedy Interesting...

You Are a Ring Finger

You are romantic, expressive, and hopeful. You see the best in everything. You are very artistic, and you see the world as your canvas. You are also drawn to the written word. Inventive and unique, you are often away in your own inner world. You get along well with: The Pinky Stay away from: The Index Finger

What Finger Are You?

FO Report: Peace Fleece Raglan Cardi

Pattern: My own design, a la Barbara Walker.

Yarn: Peace Fleece Worsted Weight, Sheplova Mushroom

Needles: KnitPicks Options, size 9

Started: April 20, 2007

Finished: May 27, 2007

I think this sweater is going to get a lot of wear come late Fall and Winter. It is very warm, so it didn't stay on for much longer than it took to set the timer and take this picture. It is 85 degrees here today! I loved the process of this sweater - I mainly knit this as an exercise in top-down knitting. I loved being able to fit it as I knitted. The sleeves are the perfect length, the waist shaping is in the right spot, the hem is the length I like... What's not to love about top down knitting? Oh, I have probably just a couple of yards of yarn left over. Just enough to save should I need to do any repairs. The yarn is very sturdy - probably one of the wooliest yarns I've ever knit with, if that makes sense. There was enough lanolin left it it to really soften my hands while knitting it up. The knitted fabric softened up quite a bit after it's Eucalan bath. I did a folded hem on the sleeves and body hem, and a garter stitch collar. The button band was knitted as I went, so I didn't have to go back and add that later. I should have finished this a lot faster than I did, but it's hard to knit with heavy worsted weight yarn when its 80+ degrees outside!

Plan B

Whoops! I swatched last night for Something Red with some Cascade 220 Heathers in my stash, and the gauge was way off. I usually can get gauge with the recommended needles, but this time I got 20 sts by 26 rows, and the gauge needs to be 18 x 22 to 4 inches. Keep in mind this is not the recommended yarn. I don't know where I got the idea this yarn would be a good substitute, but now it's time to move on. I really like the resulting swatch, so I'm thinking about either resizing the pattern to fit my gauge, or designing my own, another top-down. And if I design my own, do I want to incorporate some sort of stitch pattern? Hmmm, the possibilities are endless!

I tried a photo shoot last night, but the card wasn't in the camera! I forgot to ask BHE about it when he got home, so we'll see if I remember tonight :)

Quickie

Just a quick post before the work week starts again - Not much knitting to report this weekend, just a couple of rows here and there in the car (I was not driving!). Monkeyboy had soccer Saturday morning, followed by lunch, a non-nap, and a birthday party at Pump It Up! I think the adults had just as much fun as the kids :)

Tonight we had some friends over to cook out and ended up eating outside too, the weather was so nice. My job search continues. I have an interview on Tuesday with a recruiter, so hopefully something spectacular will come along soon. I did get my first rejection letter Saturday, but it was for a job I felt like I was over qualified for anyway.

Oh! I did buy some buttons today for the Peace Fleece cardi. Monkeyboy went with me to pick them out, and had a lot of fun looking at the novelty buttons while I decided on mine. He thought carrot buttons were the silliest thing ever!

Well, off to sew on said buttons - check back in a day or two for a FO report!

I'm committing myself to getting back into the blogging habit. My hangup is I don't like to blog without pictures, and usually by the time I'm able to take pictures, its dark outside. Plus, BHE and I share the digital camera, and it's never where I remember seeing it last, LOL. However, pictures are not a requirement, right? So, here I am, telling, but not showing.

So the Peace Fleece cardi has not been blocked yet, but I'm hoping to tonight. This is the first night all week we will be home, and be without company. The Sailor Collar Cardi is coming along very slowly. I think I'm 24 rows into the back. The problem is there are 3 different stitch patterns to follow, not charted, and between each of there patterns there are seed stitch and cable sections. I ended up retyping the pattern to make it easier to read, as the stitch patterns were on two different pages of the instructions, and it made it too hard to follow. Also, one of the stitch patterns has a different number of rows in one repeat than the other two do. I don't have any charting software, or I would chart the patterns. Does anyone know of any free tools on the Internet to do this, or instructions on how to do it in Word or Excel?

I've worked some on the Jaywalker. Sweetpea pulled the circular needle out of half of the stitches and lost the marker for the beginning of the round in the process, so I tinked back a couple of rounds to restart and make sure I wasn't missing any increases or decreases. That's about it for now - oh, we are going on a road trip next week, and I don't think the Sailor Collar Cardi will be car friendly, so I'm considering my options. Obviously I'll take the Jaywalkers, but I'm also thinking about casting on for Something Red. I may try swatching this weekend...